Love Letters
by Jason Thompson
Summary: He should have known that she wouldn't let it go, but Lee convinced himself that she did. Now he's paying for it.


Love Letters

A Battlestar Galactica (2005) Fan-fiction Story

Author: Jason Thompson

October 8, 2005

Disclaimer:Once upon a time there was a guy he wrote a story with characters and settings he didn't own, but he put a disclaimer on his story and that made it a little less illegal. Galactica is owned by Universal, Sci-fi Channel, Glen A Larson, David Eick and Ronald D Moore.

Category:AU; Lee/Kara aka Apollo/Starbuck

Spoilers:A sprinkling here and there, mostly for Home, Pegasus and both Resurrection Ships.

Warnings:

Summery:He should have known that she wouldn't let it go, but Lee convinced himself that she did. Now he's paying for it.

Rating:

Distribution:Ask First.

Notes:

Dedication:Dedicated to the usual suspects; Genova aka Schweet, Bri, Mary, Duchess, Dale, Blaire, Red, Stone Cold, Ice Wing, Arashi, Aslan, Vega, Tony D, Jen Zimmer, Louise, Sairs, and Queen Angel who have allowed me to bounce my ideas off them, and Krac, cause she has the evil bunny slippers.

Love Letters

Lee Adama was an idiot. That was the only explanation for the predicament he was in. Going all the way back to the destruction of the Colonies, hell even before that, Rule Number One was always; "Never Underestimate Kara Thrace." Rule Number Two was of course, "Consult Rule Number One." He'd followed them religiously at all times because whether in the cockpit, at the card table, or doing anything else Kara Thrace was capable of anything. He'd forgotten them both and now he was paying for it with a barrage of snarky notes left everywhere.

He sighed at the latest sealed envelope; this one left tucked in his helmet, he twirled it in his fingers. He was almost afraid to open it, "What have I done to deserve you, Starbuck?"

The notes had started not long after their return to the Galactica after their extremely brief and equally miserable tour on the Pegasus. After Cain had died the President had promoted his father to Admiral, if turn he'd promoted Lee to the rank of Major and placed him in command of both air groups. He'd transferred Kara back to Galactica as the new CAG and promoted Whiplash to Captain before naming him Pegasus CAG.

Lee had been required to split time between the two Battlestars but he still spent most of his flight time with Galactica's group. At the end of the day, Galactica's pilot needed his experience more than the Pegasus pilots. He'd had Kara stagger his and Starbuck's patrol shifts so at least one of them would be on alert or in the air at all times.

So far, so good… He should have known it would all go to hell.

He'd gotten up one morning before the rest of the pilots to get ready for his turn on the CAP, opened his locker and found a note taped to his shaving kit. Nothing was written on the envelope so he opened it and found one sentence; "You Love me!" Even if he didn't recognize the surprisingly sloppy scrawl, there'd only been two people alive he'd said that to and his father wasn't the type.

He'd confirmed his suspicions when he'd arrived on the flight deck minutes later. He caught sight of her seemingly working on her Viper; she looked up at him with an innocent expression that only served to declare her guilty in Lee's mind. Kara Thrace only had an innocent expression when she was guilty. He frowned at her and she winked before returning to work on her plane.

The next morning in the Ready Room, he found a second note taped to his assignment board that read, "You want to Kiiiiiss me!" As he read it, he could almost hear her singing it at him in a mocking tone. When she entered the Ready Room for the de-briefing, she smirked at him and took her seat. Half way through the briefing she caught his eye, pouted her lips slightly and ran her finger over the bottom one surreptitiously, which caused him to blush and stammer his assignments. Racetrack made a joke about him starting in on the ambrosia a little early and the incident was forgotten by all except Kara, who winked at him yet again.

That was nearly three weeks ago and he knew because his nineteen notes (One a day) were keeping track of the passage of time very well. All of them were concealed within his things. He'd find them in his boot or a pocket of his flight-suit, a few had been taped to his podium when he arrived for de-briefing and two had been hand delivered by a smirking Chief Tyrol.

They were all short, one or two sentences and each showed the epic maturity he'd come to expect from his friend. Some of them included; "Mr. and Mrs. Lee Adama," "Kara & Lee" encircled by a heart and his personal favorite "Lee and Kara sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

He sighed, leave it to him to say "I love you" to the one woman in the Universe who took it as an opportunity for ridicule.

"Another 'love' note, sir?"

Lee turned to face Tyrol with a frown that he'd learned watching his father. It was nearly as effective as the Commander's as the Chief stepped back with a sheepish expression. He held up the note and said, "Who else knows Chief?"

"No one, sir." He frowned, "Well, Maybe Lt. Agathon but I doubt it."

"At least there's that." He frowned down at the seemingly harmless paper, "Helo would be at me about them too, if he knew." He looked up at the Chief of the Deck with a grin, "I suppose I should get it over with."

Tyrol grinned, "You sound like a condemned man, sir."

Lee chuckled, "Chief, I told Kara Thrace that I love her, I am a condemned man." He tore the envelope open and pulled out the slip of folded paper inside. He unfolded it and his jaw nearly dropped at the contents.

While dumbly staring at the page, he vaguely heard Tyrol clear his throat and say. "That is… that's a… um, detailed drawing, sir."

He nodded and muttered, "Frak me…" What he found was a surprisingly detailed and accurate drawing of Kara and him engaged in an activity that would lead them both straight to the brig, and knowing the reputation of his friend, a smile they'd have to nuke off his face and even then…  
At the bottom of the page he noticed a note from Kara. "Is this what you think about in the shower, sir?" He could almost see her raised eyebrow in his mind's eye. "I knew she was talented…" The Chief's raised eyebrow and smirk caused Lee to blush and stammer, "I mean as an artist."

The other man nodded, "Of course sir, whatever you say."

Once again the glare did the trick as Tyrol immediately stopped laughing. He tucked the note into his flight-suit and grabbed his helmet. "Chief, do me a favor, tell Captain Thrace I want to see her in the Ready Room the second I get back."

Tyrol smirked and Lee finally felt the humor in the situation. It was good not to be the butt of the joke sometimes. He marched across the flight deck and climbed into his Viper. As he pulled on his helmet and checked his gear a final time he caught sight of Kara. She grinned at him and he tossed her a sarcastic salute before giving a thumbs-up to Cally before the Specialist closed his canopy. He caught one last glance of Starbuck and the pilot's eyes narrowed as she made a show of trailing her tongue over her top lip and waggling her eyebrows.

As his Viper shot down the launch tube into space to meet up with Hot Dog and Helo's Raptor, Lee sighed and slumped as far as G-force would allow. If nothing else, Starbuck had guaranteed that his CAP would be a very, very long four hours.

&&&&&&&&&

Lee Adama was an idiot, an adorable, easily-flustered, often-prudish idiot. Kara smirked at the thought of him, most of the time Lee was an incredible man; he was an idealist when it came to politics, a perfectionist concerning duty and he was an absolute genius in the cockpit. He had few if any equals in the sky, if she was sleeping late that day of course.

But when it came to women he was a man and men like Lee made it a habit of having no clue how to handle her. She was used to it; it seemed that since she was old enough to appreciate men she had confounded them even more than other women did. By the time she'd met Lee through Zak it was an accepted fact that she had the ability to get anything she wanted from most any man.

Lee was special though, she found what she wanted most from Major Tight-ass was exactly what she was getting from him now; namely him, half-crazy with frustration.

Which is not to say that she wasn't attracted to him, quite the contrary, he had most of the females in the fleet wagging their tongues at him, hell she'd seen the President give him the once over every now and again. It was just really never an issue for her; Lee was attractive, she noticed and if the right situation arose she'd be willing to frak him through a bulkhead but she didn't really act on it.

She also knew that a little teasing went a long way with him; she'd taunt him, make jokes and innuendos, invade his personal space and rake her eyes over him in such a way that her skin crawled almost as much as his. He'd try to play along, but she could quickly get him blushing, stammering and trying to turn the conversation back to safer areas. It was almost as much fun as flying.

When she saw him in his bunk on Galactica after Cain's funeral, a part of her was heartbroken at the sight. He looked so lost and when he told her that he'd given up on life she'd very nearly torn his head off. For once she managed to get the better of her temper and she just reached out to take his hand in hers. She squeezed his hand gently until he finally squeezed back and she said just one thing. "Lee, I'm here."

A few days later, Lee had called together both flight groups on the Pegasus to explain both his promotion and position as well as trying to encourage the two groups to put aside past differences. Some of Pegasus' Vipers and pilots were being transferred to Galactica to even out the numbers and some of Galactica's younger pilots were being transferred over to work with more experienced pilots.

With her new position as CAG, Apollo had put the nuggets under Captain Taylor's command as it turned out the former Pegasus CAG was a flight instructor on Scorpion before the Holocaust. After he'd explained everything he handed out the orders of transfer to all the pilots affected and dismissed them. She'd lingered just long enough to see him clench his eyes shut as he shuffled his papers and she noticed the very subtle slouching of his shoulders.

She'd decided then she'd have to do something.

She'd been unpacking her belongings back on Galactica and came across her Pyramid ball and she remembered their conversation on the Astral Queen. She decided that it was high time to let her friend know that telling Kara Thrace that you loved her was not something she took lightly.

The notes may not have been her usual tactics, she'd never really had much love for subtlety or discretion, but they worked very well. From the very first note he'd shown signs of life and his sense of humor was slowly returning. Once she could see that he was at least entertained, she could finally take joy in his discomfort and annoyance.

Today's sketch was simply a way of turning things up a notch. She figured he'd either confront her to demand she'd stop in which case she'd only step up her torture, or he'd make some half-hearted attempt to intimidate her into getting her to stop in which case she'd laugh at him then step up her torture. It worked like a charm. She had loved the smug expression on his face as he and the Chief crossed the flight deck and the joking salute he gave her before launch was priceless. When the Chief had said he'd want to see her in the Ready Room the second he finished his CAP she laughed.

Lee actually thought he'd get the best of her, yes he was an idiot, her adorable little idiot.

She sauntered into the Ready Room and found Kat, Greenback and Buster engaged in an energetic discussion of Kat's first run in a Mark VII the other day. Kat looked up at him and grinned, "Hey CAG."

Greenback gave her a nod and Buster started to get to his feet before she waved him off. "I'm not here for duty, but I need you guys to clear out for a while. Major Adama wants to have some words in private with yours truly and I'm sure they'll be too intense for your fragile virgin ears."

The trio of pilots just smirked while Kat gave her a "Frak your virgin ears CAG." She chucked her thumb towards the hatch and they obliged her. She looked over the assignments boards and busied herself with planning the next rotation while she waited for Lee to return.

She hadn't been waiting long when she heard the hatch open, close and then lock. She stifled a smirk and waited a silent count of five. Like clockwork, Lee cleared his throat and spoke. "Starbuck, I'm guessing you've been trying to get my attention."

She turned to him as her smirk instantly became a neutral expression. "I'm sorry Major, I don't follow." She took in his appearance, his flight suit was open and the top portion was tied around his waist. The grey tank was darkened slightly from sweat and the skin of his arms had a fine covering of moisture as well. She had to admit, he did the sexy pilot thing well.

He grinned for just a moment before his eyes narrowed. "You love picking on me, don't you?"

She cocked her head at him and said. "I'm not sure what you mean."

He nodded at her in a placating fashion, "Nineteen notes? All of them could technically be considered sexual harassment? 'You love me.' 'You want to kiss me.' 'I see you staring at my ass in the shower, Lee.' Is any of this ringing a bell, Kara?"

She grinned, "Well, you do. You even said as much, 'Kara, I'm your friend, I love you.' I told you then that there's-"

"'No take-backs,' I remember very clearly."

She couldn't help the smug expression, even if she had wanted to. "Lee, it's simple. When a man loves a woman, she has the right… no, the duty to make him as miserable as possible."

He folded his arms over his chest and said, "It stops."

She laughed at that and matched his posture. "Oh really, is that an order, Major?"

He shook his head and he took a step towards her until he loomed over her, "No, it's a statement of fact. Your notes stop, because if you don't-"

She fisted her hands on her hips and smirked, "You'll do what?"

This time he matched her posture, "It's not what I will do, it's what I won't do anymore."

Now she was intrigued, was Lee actually trying to play with her? She hoped so, because it was so much more fun when he thought he could compete with her. "I'll bite Lee, what is it you won't do anymore?"

She was slammed against the assignment board and he growled, "This." Suddenly he was all over her, his mouth was crushing hers nearly to the point of bruising and every inch of him pressed against her. The material of his flight suit creaked as she ground her hips into his and she twisted his tanks in her fingers to avoid him trying to escape.

It was a kiss that was almost out of Lee's character. It was harsh and demanding and leaving a wet spot in her panties. His tongue practically broke through her teeth to attack her mouth and she gasped at the contact. Finally she recovered herself and pushed against him, they staggered into the podium and damn near knocked it over before he shoved them forcefully against the wall. She moaned against his mouth partly from the pain but mostly from the kiss.

She wrapped a leg around his waist and pulled him as close as possible while she began to tug on his tanks. Lee meanwhile had abandoned her mouth in favor of an area of flesh just beneath her left ear. His left hand was fumbling with the buttons of her uniform jacket while his right hand managed to scorch her thigh even through the fabric of her pants.

She was rapidly growing to appreciate this side of Lee that she'd always wondered about. The confidence he exuded in the cockpit eventually had to make its way into other aspects of his life and she'd finally found it.

Maybe he wasn't an idiot after all.

However, with no warning Lee's mouth pulled away from her burning skin and his hands retreated leaving her at the mercy of the suddenly freezing air of the Ready Room. He was backing away, out of her reach and pulling on his flight suit. "What… What are you- What the frak?"

He zipped up his flight suit and smirked, "I have a meeting with the Admiral and Fisk to discuss progress reports. Have a nice day Captain." He spun on his heel and left the Ready Room.

She was left speechless, breathless and as the hormones began to fade, furious.

&&&&&&&&&

Lee stepped out of the Ready Room and found Helo leaning against a nearby bulkhead. "Major."

He nodded, "Lieutenant. Something I can help you with?" He started back towards his cabin and the Raptor Pilot fell into step with him.

Helo nodded, "Thanks for putting me back on rotation."

He shrugged, "It was mostly Starbuck, but I'm happy to take the credit. You're qualified as both an ECO and a Bus Driver so it would have been stupid not to." He looked at him for a moment, "Besides, the Chief was getting tired of seeing you mope around the flight deck with nothing to do."

Helo grinned and was about to speak when an angry bellow came from the Ready Room, "YOU FRAKKING TEASE!"

The pair stopped and turned back towards the sound for a moment before continuing on their way. Lee was trying to bite down on his laughter while Karl broke the silence. "Speaking of Starbuck…"

Lee managed to wrangle in his humor and said. "Don't ask Karl, I'm still basking in the afterglow."

The other man gave him an intrigued look and asked, "Afterglow of what, sir?"

He paused and turned to the junior officer and let the smug feeling grow within, "For the first time, I got the better of Kara Thrace."

Helo grinned, "Permission to speak freely?" At Lee's nod he cocked an eyebrow, "I'll speak well of you at your funeral sir."

"Thanks Helo."

&&&&&&&&&

The meeting with Fisk and the Admiral had not lasted nearly as long as Lee had expected, but it did last far longer than he would have like.

It was only a few minutes into the meeting that he had realized that kissing Kara had been a major mistake. Mostly because he enjoyed it far, far too much to simply walk away and endure a meeting of flight rotations and Taylor's progress reports.

Kissing Kara had been everything he'd imagined it would when he entertained the notion. Her reaction had been very positive and once again she led him down a path that he didn't want to travel down until he was there.

Now that he was wherever it was Kara led him, he wanted to track her down and finish what he started. He practically stalked down the hallway towards the senior pilot's bunks. He stopped in the entrance and found it empty. He frowned and crossed the room to find an envelope taped to his locker door.

He plucked it off and laughed at the writing on the envelope, "Major Son of a Bitch." Kara had made a point to turn his new rank into an adjective for her insulting remarks. He tore the envelope and pulled out the note within. He opened it and smiled at the single sentence message. "Okay fine you bastard, I love you too."

He really couldn't expect any less from Starbuck.

--End--


End file.
